Transport

Cars have revolutionised the way we live, increasing our freedom and widening our horizons. But the way we use cars has implications for our health and for the environment.

Transport in general is responsible for about a quarter of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions and has a major impact on air quality. Air pollution causes between 12,000 and 24,000 early deaths every year, as small particles emitted by petrol or diesel vehicles are linked to asthma and nitrogen oxides causes respiratory diseases. Vast tracts of our land is covered with tarmac roads and car parks, and then we have associated problems such as noise, petrol fumes, traffic jams, road works and stress.

Demand for air travel is expected to increase threefold by 2030. Airliners burn huge quantities of fossil fuel and are now the fastest-growing contributor to global warming. As well as emitting far more CO2, airliners emit the CO2 directly into the upper atmosphere, where it does twice (in fact, 2.7 times) the damage of CO2 emitted at ground level.

On the Trail...

Sustrans is a national sustainable transport charity that promotes walking, cycling and public transport for health, safety and environmental reasons. It has developed the National Cycle Network and the Connect2 project, which include routes within the Swansea area.

Swansea Bus Station provides a modern and central public transport interchange linking with dozens of local bus routes, national coach services, taxi services, park and ride services and the ftrmetro. The ftrmetro is a frequent and modern bus service along a route between Morriston and Singleton Hospital stopping at several key locations on the way.